2019 Playwriting Competition

Have you ever felt something calling you forward: a purpose towards which you are striving, something you were meant to achieve or become? Did you know that the same principles of physics that describe causality have a second solution, one that describes how the present is influenced by future purposes just as it is influenced by past causes?

In 2015, the ICRL Press published a book by Ulisse Di Corpo and Antonella Vaninni that describes the phenomenon of syntropy, the complementary principle to entropy. We at the International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) regard this book, “Syntropy: The Spirit of Love,” as a vital resource for raising awareness of the phenomenon, and are seeking to expand our efforts into the performing arts.

We invite you to submit a script to the inaugural run of the “ICRL Playwriting Competition.” For this event, we are soliciting one-act scripts that can help raise awareness of the principle of syntropy, and its role in human experience. Of the submissions, three scripts will be selected for monetary awards of $50 (third place), $100 (second place), and $200 (first place). Depending on quality and suitability, the first place winner may be contracted to write a full-length play on the subject.

Also, if there are a sufficient number of quality submissions that are well-aligned with the message of “Syntropy: The Spirit of Love,” ICRL will select (approximately) five additional winners to create a one-acts production to be performed at a theater in the greater Baltimore region.

Competition Rules:

  • Scripts will be assessed based primarily on their ability to raise awareness of the principle of syntropy as described in Di Corpo’s and Vaninni’s book. This means the script should: a) clearly relate to and illustrate this topic; and b) do so in a way that will capture and retain an audience’s attention and interest.   Additional information about the book can be found here.
  • Plays should be approximately 10-15 minutes in duration.
  • Aside from the above-mentioned focus on syntropy, there are no limitations on genre or style.
  • Each playwright may submit up to two scripts.
  • There is no entry fee to submit scripts.
  • While there aren’t strict formatting requirements, scripts that are difficult to read will be viewed less favorably (i.e. don’t hurt your chances by making your work difficult to follow).
  • Submissions will be judged blind, so scripts must not contain the playwright’s name or other identifying information.
  •  Scripts are to be submitted electronically to  no later than 11:59 pm (east coast, GMT-5) on March 30, 2019. In the submission email, please include the playwright’s name, mailing address, email address, and the title of the script(s) being submitted.
  • We are aiming to announce the winners of the competition in early July, although the specific timetable will depend on the number of submissions received.
  • First, second, and third place awards of $50, $100, and $200 are guaranteed. The contracting of a full-length script from the first-place winner, as well as the determination of whether to produce a one-acts show with a Baltimore theater, is at the discretion of ICRL based on suitability of the submitted scripts.

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We were honored to receive 180 submissions to the inaugural ICRL Playwriting Competition.  The submissions varied in genre and approach, and with great difficulty were ultimately narrowed down to seven finalists, from which the three winners were chosen.  These plays and playwrights are listed below:

    • 1st Place ($200): Waking Up, Fernando Segall
    • 2nd Place ($100): The Off Chance, Teri Foltz
    • 3rd Place ($50): The Possibility of Lightning, Scott Mullen
    • Finalist: Falling Up, Pete Mergel
    • Finalist: Light Bulb, Benjamin Pressnall
    • Finalist: Time and Again, John Cusumano
    • Finalist: 1001, Mary Parisoe

Our thanks to all the talented playwrights who submitted their work for consideration.